Loss and Lost
by DeepCFisher
Summary: After failing to defend his Empire, Karl Franz is given a new chance to help humanity and her allies. He journeys through Remnant to save them from a new Chaos plot.
1. A Final Gambit

**All the usual disclaimers. I own neither Warhammer Fantasy nor RWBY. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

The dark hallway filled with the light clanging of metal armor sliding and shifting as the column of warriors, knights, and wizards followed after their emperor. Karl Franz strode forward at their head, his face held high and his polished plate gleaming even in the low light. Belying his dignified posture, Karl's face was grim, showing the truth of his thoughts. The emperor went to his doom.

As the large company of picked men and one woman finally came to their objective, the Altdorf bestiary, they could see out over the walls of the city. All around the capital of the Reich stretched the vast forces of Chaos. Great siegeworks lay about in various stages of construction. Enormous hills of flesh rose and fell as scattered giants slumbered. The target of this night's mission was a collection of large tents and banners deep within the enemy's mass: the encampment of Archaeon the Everchosen, champion of Chaos Undivided, Bringer of the Apocalypse and Herald of the End Times. The collection of ramshackle huts was a far cry from the organized headquarters of and Imperial General, but each man it contained was leagues apart from any general's bodyguard.

That was the reason each knight and soldier was picked for their skill at arms first and foremost. The two wizards amongst them were Carmella Kristoff and Leggard Dynst, a bright wizard and celestial wizard respectfully. Both were senior member of their orders and had unparalleled control over their schools of magic. It would be desperately needed as their magic would be the barricade keeping the Chaos forces from overrunning the small band. As much as Karl wished he could bring more wizards, there was simply no more room and every man would be needed to defeat the Everchosen's bodyguard.

The war party gathered around the four griffons left in all of the Empire. While each massive beast was monstrously powerful, there were only so many fully armored men that could ride along before they wouldn't get off the ground. That limited the party to a Captain renowned for his dueling skill, the two wizards, a warrior priest of Sigmar wielding a massive great hammer, the Witch Hunter Captain of the Altdorf Chapter house, eight knights of various orders, the Emperor and the three other griffon riders. As there was no hope of them making a second trip, the three griffon riders were also skilled combatants themselves.

As Karl stood beside his old mount, Deathclaw nudged him with his beak. He reached up and stroked the griffon's head whispering, "Yes old friend. You know don't you? Well if this is to be our last ride together, let us make it such a ride as to be remembered for an age." The massive animal's eyes sparkled somberly as he spoke.

Turning to address the humans, his voice rose, "Tonight we ride to spit in the face of our doom. The enemy surrounds us, their numbers are beyond counting. Beasts and monsters follow them in the thousands and tireless daemons flow through the warp. Any hope of holding back their coming assault is far beyond us. I do not speak of these things so as to waver your spirits, I seek only to remind you of the import of what we do tonight. There is no other path open for us, so secret fall back to retreat to. Our one single chance is to strike at the heart and the head of the enemy host in one blow! Tonight, Archaeon must die! Nothing short of this is acceptable. No retreat, no surrender! Slay his camp and raise the bastard's head on a pike!" A guttural roar from his followers greeted his speech.

As Karl looked around, he could see the fire in their eyes at this final chance to hold back the enemy tide, even if it was long odds. A defiant spit in the eyes of their great foe, and it was little more than a spit to be sure. In his private thoughts Franz couldn't help but wonder if successfully killing Archaeon, no simple feat in itself, would even lead to an overall victory.

Historically the death of the horde marshal would send a shock rippling through the enemy ranks that could be exploited into a rout. This time seemed different. The great enemy had not possessed the same level of ferocity before, nor the same unwavering steadfastness.

In the end, it did not matter. Karl was not lying when he had said this was the only option open to them. Therefore it was the option they would take. Were it any other foe, a full nighttime assault would have been devastating after the shock of losing the commander. Yet with the men and beasts of Chaos, so close to their final victory, Archaeon's death might spur them on to greater feats of courage and barbarity if the gates were to open.

The decision had been made then to wait, let the infighting and squabbling break what little cohesion they had, before sweeping them from the field. It would mean grave danger to the emperor and his companions. In fact it had been a serious point of contention for many in the inner circle of the emperor. Most prominently the Reiksguard. Their objections had been for naught. Karl Franz refused outright to send men into so dangerous an attempt at the last ditch, without leading them. He only hoped this would not all be in vain as he mounted Deathclaw.

Twenty minutes later, the assault group was flying under a dark, heavily clouded sky. The griffons were unarmored to reduce the noise and allow for more of the heavily weighted knights. The humans meanwhile, had cloth wrappings around every joint to cover their own small noises. They had begun the night's journey by flying high above Altdorf before setting off in a gentle glide towards their destination. The belief being that there would be far less risk of the great wings alerting a sentry and sounding the alarm.

With their altitude and uninterrupted line of sight, it was possible to see just how far and deep the mass of men and monster alike stretched before them. Several awed and horrified mutterings started upon Deathclaw's back only to be silenced by a look from Karl and the griffon both.

The wind rushed past them as they descended towards the camp of the bastard they aimed to kill. Feeling not unlike a bird of prey, Franz smiled ferociously as they neared the camp. They were almost upon it when they suddenly realized they were losing too much momentum and would certainly fall short of the camp by some meters. With a nudge of their thighs the griffon riders directed their mounts upwards. Nearly as one, the great beasts gave several wing beats before resuming their glide.

Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed and soon there were several shouts of alarm from beneath them. Deciding speed was worth more than silence at this point, Karl waved forward to the other riders before pushing Deathclaw forward into an aggressive dive.

They rapidly picked up speed and barreled into two Chaos warriors as they emerged from a hide shelter. Hitting them with all the force and subtlety an angry griffon can possess, quite a bit of the former and very little of the latter, one man's midsection was pulped underneath a claw and the other's head ripped off by the great beak. Leaping from the saddle as the last of the riders fell off from wherever they had been clinging to, Karl pet Deathclaw's side whispering "You did well, now help the others."

One of the men accompanying him, the champion of the Golden Lions order quipped "Hell of a landing sir. I had to piss fore al that but I reckon I'm good now." Carmella barked out an ashy laugh while Franz smiled and said, "I'll buy you a bottle of Altdorf's finest to replace your lost fluids Lysander." The man seemed to perk up at that and saluted before storming off to engage an emerging foe.

Carmella looked at Franz asking "Should I raise the wall yet sire?" Glancing around the camp as fires lit and men moved towards their position, he gave her a nod and she immediately went to work raising a wall of living fire that would encircle Archaeon's camp. Franz noticed Laggard beginning to call up a great storm to keep the heavens clear of enemy flyers. The knights and various other warriors were engaged or moving to engage the members of the Harbinger of the End Time's retinue.

Carmella's conjured fire created a bright backdrop against which the fighters became mere shadow puppets. These were far more detailed than those that Karl's father used for bedtime stories. He doubted even the nimblest fingers could have made figures such as these. With a final somber reflection that he would never get the chance to make shadows dance for his unborn grandchildren, he moved on.

Searching the figures for his prey, he found the beast clad in mortal flesh. Archaeon watched the battle around him, his expression unreadable underneath the three-eyed helm. His posture was slightly clearer, seeming to indicate total relaxation amongst the bloodshed. Undoubtedly feeling the emperor's gaze upon him, the helmeted head of the Great Destroyer slowly turned to regard the mortal man who dared defy him. The bright red eyes glowed malevolently, seeming to pierce him with their concentrated hatred.

With no more words, the two leaders began to advance towards each other. Shouting a bloody warcry, Franz sprinted forward several steps before being forced to leap out of the way of a fireball. Bringing his warhammer above his head to block a downward strike, he received the shield to his unguarded side. Staggered he back stepped to give himself room. The Chaos lord was coming at him fast, and he only had moments to duck beneath the slash and hammer the shield out of Archaeon's hand. The warrior of chaos was hardly fazed and gave Karl a snapkick which sent him reeling back. The Chaos blade came screaming in at him; the only thing that stopped him from being split in two was the Silver Seal, a magical ward that could protect the wearer from mortal blows.

Even so, the blow drove him to a knee and with a sharp cracking noise the ward broke. With a ferocious roar, he lunged out and shattered Archaeon's knee. He got a response in way of an agonized bellow of pain out of the dark warlord. Smiling, tasting victory, Karl sprang to his feet and brought his hammer down on the man's weak guard smashing the sword from his grasp. The dreadful warrior rolled away from the following hammer blow and scooped up his shield while rising on his good knee. He caught the next swing on the shield and punched the Emperor's nose. Karl Franz glared though the pain and unleashed a brutal series of blows against his foe. The daemon forged metal began to bend and warp around the arm that held it.

However, as Karl brought his hammer above his head to break the shield and arm together in one almighty blow, a blinding pain erupted in his torso as a sickly blade emerged through his chest. Covered in the sick of Nurgle, it wept a viscous mixture of his blood and pure plague liquid. Just as suddenly as he had felt victory close at hand, he saw it snatched away. His body felt increasingly cold and his strength fled. He slowly collapsed as Archaeon rose, laughing. "Well little Franz, I'll admit, I underestimated you. And it almost cost me. But it looks like my warriors were more than a match for your weaklings." With what little strength he had left, Karl cast his eyes back towards the rest of his men. He owed them that much at least. It was a gruesome sight. His men had been butchered to the last. They had been hacked apart and their corpses were now being used for the barbaric rituals of the Chaos Gods. The Chosen of Nurgle who had stabbed him stared down slack jawed, the feverous eyes glowing madly. Karl Franz did the only thing he could muster and spit in the eye of the smelly warrior. Getting no response, he turned back to Archaeon. The horde master was now fully risen and had retrieved his sword again.

Limping back to the fading emperor, he leaned down so they were face to helm and growled out "My only regret is having to kill you before your city burns. But I will not let you breathe my air." And so saying he brought the mighty daemon blade in a massive overhead swing that cleaved Karl from his neck to his groin, and the Emperor was no more.


	2. A Little Chat

Karl Franz awoke. Or rather, he became aware again. He had no eyes to open nor skin to feel with, yet he could still observe his surroundings and its warmth. As far as his awareness could stretch, there was nothing. At least not as he knew things. There were no trees, no clouds nor buildings. Only a roiling expanse that stretched before him like an ocean, but in every direction.

He was reminded of a time when, as a child, he had ridden on a ship with his father. The reason for their voyage escaped him but he could fully recall that when they had anchored at some small port, he had gone swimming. The cool water was exhilarating and he had dived as deep as he could. On a whim he had opened his eyes despite knowing how the salt would sting. For the briefest of moments, Karl had seen an image which had seared itself to his memory and until now had gone unchallenged as being the most striking thing he had ever seen.

The water stretched before him, blanketing the world silent, peaceful and unequalled in its rhythm. All moved to the will of the great ocean. The final parts of that memory were full of the blinding pain in his eyes and his sister's laughter at his stupidity. Karl was pleased there was no salt to disrupt his view this time, nor the barking shrieks of Anna to mock his pain. No, he could stare at this sight and never tire. He was in a word, content. As if responding to this emotion, all that he gazed upon stilled.

"So quickly you bend the warp to your will. So in control of your own emotions."

Taken unawares but with no body to jump and no weapons to ready, Karl merely turned his attention to the new presence. He was immediately taken aback at how he had missed him. For before the newly dead emperor was Sigmar Heldenhammer, The Hammer of the Orcs, The Chosen of Ulric, First of the Emperors and He who had Ascended. He was also beyond measure. What Karl had thought to be his surroundings were all connected to the god, stretching out ad infinitum.

Sigmar chuckled, "Hello young Franz."

Karl attempted to bow, but lacking knees to bend he had to resort to lowering himself and could only hope the god was not displeased. Instead he heard, "Rise up noble warrior, you deserve to prostrate yourself before no one."

The great spirit then said, "It also seems your surroundings disturb you somewhat. Let us see if we can find an acceptable replacement." Then as if in a flash, the world around him was remade in the image of Karl's ancestral estates. Karl raised his arms, returned to him once more. They didn't feel right, nothing did. All was seen through the haze of memory. He turned to regard the man beside him. Restrained once more in the flesh of his mortal days, it no longer seemed nearly the impressive sight when compared to the truth of what lay beneath.

"I hope the familiarity of the environment will put you more at ease Karl, for the task I have for you will do nothing for your composure." Karl could only stare wide eyed at the god before stammering out, "Whatever it is my lord, I will do it. Whoever must be fought, I will destroy them. What must be preserved I will defend it." Placing a hand upon his shoulder, Sigmar led him toward the main house saying with a smile, "Time enough for that later, I hunger and thirst. Now you wouldn't want to be a poor host would you?"

Karl Franz protested, "But if you have a task for me, I would see it done!"

Gripping his shoulder Sigmar calmed him, "My boy, time passes here as I will it and I will it to be still. We have all the time we need, and I will not send you unprepared."

So saying, they entered the unoccupied but fully stocked house and proceeded to cook and extravagant meal. After much idle chatter, somewhat more forced on the part of Karl, they finally retired to a warm sitting room lit by a quiet fire.

Smiling Sigmar simply watched Franz fidget wildly for some minutes before finally laughing wildly at him. Karl finally burst out, "Will you please tell me my lord what it is that you require of me?"

Nearly gasping, Sigmar barely choked out, "Oh but my boy this is too much fun for me to just give it up. You are so reminiscent of my young boys on the eve of the winter celebration."

Karl could only sigh to himself, "I am in the presence of the greatest champion mankind has ever know and he's are comparing me to children."

Waving airily at him, Sigmar finally responded, "Relax boy, I don't get many chances to have fun. But fine, I'll tell you what I have in mind."

A much more serious face came over him before he started again. "You are obviously aware that the world has fallen to Chaos. What you may not know is that the battle continues on. It has now moved to a higher realm, and there we have a chance to reset the world. But that is not where your task lies." His had raised to forestall Karl's protest. "Your objective will be of utmost importance though, I assure you. Chaos seeks new power to ensure our destruction. They have cast their gaze far and have settled upon a small world which possesses a darkness that is perfect for their means."

Karl could not help but look aghast, "There is another world out there?"

"Oh yes, and much, much more besides through the warp. Most remains inaccessible to us, but with the recent destruction of our realm, several new paths have become unlocked. They are still limited however, and I have only enough spare power to send one man to block Chaos from this new weapon. You are the man I would choose for this."

Bowing his head Karl muttered, "I am honored by your trust. But I must ask, what power is this that the foul powers wish to gain?"

"I do not know the exact form this power takes, yet that they want for it is reason enough to stop them. Before you go, there are some things you need to know about the world I would send you to. First off, humanity is not alone in their struggle. A species called the Faunus walks alongside them though my source tells me the relationship has grown more adversarial as of late. The destiny of this world balances on the edge of a knife and a civil war at this juncture would spell disaster."

"It sounds as if you know quite a bit about the politics of this world mighty Sigmar."

"I had very limited contact with a god of their world, I had to scrape together what I could. That said, you will have a much easier time learning about this new world when you get there."

Karl's eyebrow tilted questioningly. How could a mere mortal learn about an entirely new culture more simply than a god?

In answer Sigmar said, "The people have advanced far beyond what you or I would have ever thought possible. Libraries worth of knowledge is stored in less space than a single book, ships that sail amongst the clouds and guns that fire seeing without end. I am not sure how exactly it all works, but am told it makes life much more convenient."

Karl laughed openly for the first time since meeting the god. "I think you might be downplaying it a bit. Now I am truly interested to see this new world."

"Then open your eyes and see."

The next thing Karl felt was grass on his cheeks and a warm breeze across his face.


	3. A New World

Opening his eyes to a bright sky, Karl sat up feeling quite refreshed despite his last in-body experience being split nearly in half. He supposed matters such as these were simple for a god. Taking a moment to indulge himself, something that he allowed less and less as the responsibilities piled on, he enjoyed the feeling of the warm sun on his face. A light breeze blew with only enough gumption to tickle the grass against his bare skin.

Sitting up he observed himself and found no immediate issues. Girded in his full plate, he could have missed something but doubted it as he could fully feel the metal's weight on all his limbs. No pain accompanied any bend, twist or tilt. That was good, in case something decided to surprise him in this strange land. Logically, he knew there should be no surprise in the might of Sigmar. Still his emotions screamed that he had been fully killed and should not be feeling so well.

Shrugging and deciding that is was a matter that could be examined later, he took full stock of where exactly the lord of Mankind had placed him. The edge of a forest soared high beside him with the great shadows of full grown oaks. He nearly scowled as it reminded him of the woods of the Drakenwald. The undergrowth was thick and matted, not even game trails showed through.

Deciding anything trying to spring an ambush from there would make enough noise to give ample warning, Karl turned his back to it and kicked over something he hadn't noticed in the grass beside him. Bending down, he pulled Ghal Moraz out of the thick fibers and smiled. Sigmar had truly blessed him with a tremendous bounty.

In the next moment, the full weight of his mission struck him and the smile bled from his face. The armor and ancient warhammer were not presents from a gracious father; instead they were tools that were necessary for the task at hand. Karl was filled with a resolve greater than he had felt at any point save perhaps, the battle of Blackfire Pass. This time he was well and truly alone.

In the skies above Karl Franz, great feathery wings beat a dreadful tattoo. Sharp avian eyes scanned the surrounding landscape with a burning hunger. Sighting a glinting in the distance, the massive beast began a slow turn towards the former emperor.

Unaware of the attention above him, Karl continued exploring the surroundings. The field stretched out for many leagues before it rose in to gently sloping hills covered in sparse trees. It looked like an orchard of some sort. Possibly apples judging from the red color. He paused, realizing he was in a different world and everything might be different. SIgmar hadn't been very clear. Of course, small details such as fruits wouldn't matter in the grand scale but he knew he would be wise to keep aware for anything that might be completely alien to him. He wasn't aware of what poisons existed nor what venomous animals there were. Suddenly feeling out of his depth, Franz doubted whether he was the correct choice for this mission. It wouldn't be the last time.

Deep in the woods that was called Knighthorne by local folk, a young girl ran faster than she ever had in her short life. Her heart raced, blood screamed in her ears but she could still hear the growling barks of the Beowolf Grimm behind her. She had bought some time to breath when she lost them in a stream, and it was likely the only reason she was still alive. Although how much longer that could last, she didn't know. She continued to trip, the tears in her eyes blinding her to the small knots and roots in the small path. She had wet herself when the chase had first started and now the damp skin was starting to chaff. A very small part of her wondered how she could notice this small inconvenience.

Without warning she burst form the low thick brambles around the edge of the forest and cried out. First from the pain of her skin tearing and next, from the massive warrior who seemed taken right from her old stories on ancient heroes. The man's face seemed to be taken straight from a painting of some war god clad as he was in massive plate armor. He opened his perfectly formed lips and spoke. "What in the hells of chaos are you?"

Karl was undeniably stunned. He had fought alongside dwarves, elves and even lumbering ogres while engaging titanic giants, beastly mutations and gruesome daemons. The closest thing he had seen to this child were perhaps the beastmen. Except she lacked all their blood rage and only her ears were those of a rabbit's. No forget that, she had two sets of ears. Excepting the ears she was a perfectly normal little girl of not more than five or six summers. The deep howl of the beasts sounded once again, much closer this time. Realizing the beasts were chasing the girl he barked out, "Get behind me, now." She had still been staring wide eyed at him but when he motioned she immediately moved to his back.

He could now hear a monstrous crashing from the brush, and it grew and grew until five beasts came screaming out of the woodline. Once again they were like nothing he had ever seen before. Inky black, they were in the general shape of wolves but stood mostly on their hind legs. None was shorter than a good warhorse but they were hunched over and only approached Karl's shoulder. Incorporeal at the edges, it brought to mind a rough packed child's sculpture. They barred their teeth at him and there was nothing incorporeal about the three-inch-long fangs that filled the roaring maws. Bright glowing red eyes seemed to pear at his soul. Karl barred his own teeth at them and dropped down into a low guard.

Unsure of their capabilities, he readied to start this fight conservatively. The growling monsters spread out like the wolves they resembled seeking to surround him. Karl decided he was more worried about being surrounded than of his own recklessness. He sprang off his back foot towards the rightmost wolf thing. They were unprepared for such an eventuality and Ghal Moraz broke the thing's left shoulder before any could react. It howled as it collapsed, a high keening wail, but was quickly silenced with a second strike. Karl heard the heavy strides of something charging for him from his rear left quarter. A quick adjustment of his stance and then was whipping around. The back spike of his warhammer met the second creature's skull and quickly crushed through it. The force carried it off its charge and it slipped right by Karl.

The three remaining seemed almost taken aback if the pause in their growling was anything to go by. Glad he had taken the initiative and unwilling to give it up, Franz sprang forward again. The biggest of the three beasts, probably the leader, roared and met his charge with a powerful leap that left great gouges in the earth. Sliding to a knee, he brought his warhammer up into a high swing that met the wolf thing at the zenith of its short flight. The heavy mass of the hammerhead crumpled the creature's face structure and shoved its head back, collapsing its whole neck like an accordion. The force of the swing and the jump cancelled each other out and the beast fell straight down, gave a single twitch and then died.

The remaining two crouched lower, recognizing a fellow predator and an exceptionally dangerous prey. They obviously wanted to flee after watching their pack leader killed but some compulsion kept them, commanded them to kill the man before them. They circled him, one growling loudly to draw his attention. Karl knew what was coming next, he had been on too many hunts with hounds, seen too many Chaos wolves in battle not too. They would attack simultaneously, giving him no chance to survive the encounter. Basic but effective. Quickly deciding on a plan, he slid his lead foot forward slightly more while digging his back heel into the soft soil and crouching down with Ghal Moraz by his hip.

Time began to slow, like a stream of water on a closing tap. When he heard the beast behind him finally start its charge to match the one in his vision, the stream was now nothing more than a drip. First drip, the wolf things spring forward to gain momentum. Second drip and they are already at full speed on their third step. Third drip, they have covered five steps and there are five more to go. Forth drip, three steps and he can see rotten meat stuck between their teeth. Fifth drip and the monsters are only one step from ripping him limb from limb. Karl begins a horizontal swing and drops his lead foot back. Sixth drip and his hammer is connecting with the monster's head while its eyes widen comically. With his feet nearly parallel, he spins in place, carrying the lead creature into its fellow behind him. Seventh drip and the two things are colliding and the force is taking them up and away.

Time snaps back to normal and a mighty crash as Karl's targets collide with a smaller tree, cracking it right in half. No howling follows. The blow has killed them outright. With a nod of confirmation, Karl turns and notices something odd. There is no blood that decorates Ghal nor the small battlefield. Indeed, the creatures seem to be fading away like black smoke. It appears that his early assessment of packed shadows was not so wrong. Before he can consider it too much more, an almighty squeal erupted beside him and the little rabbit eared girl began jumping up and down.

"That was friggan incredible! You are way cool, so much cooler than Da! You were just like bam, wha-boom, hi-yah! I can't believe it! Velvet is going to freak when she meets you!" The whole time she whooped and jumped, her long second ears covered her eyes with every hop. Karl could only smile and watch in bemusement. It had been some time since last his victory caused such pleasure, too often, there was no one left to cheer. Eventually her energy seemed to abate, and remembered just how tired she was from her long run through the woods. She sat back on her butt, sighed and said, "Oh man, I'm beat. What's your name?" She changed topics with the speed and tact only a child could manage. Karl was on the verge of introducing himself with his usual, albeit abbreviated, titles when he remembered that they would likely mean nothing here. Worse than nothing, announcing himself as emperor of a non-existent land and prince of a long-gone city might lose him all potential credibility. His name was all he had, other titles he would have to earn here.

"Karl of house Franz, my lady" he said with a slight bow. She giggled at his funny way of speaking. "And my I have the pleasure of knowing you?" Giggling some more, she rose and with the faux formality of a child began "I am lady Satin of house Bulmount in the lands of Vale."

Karl knew immediately she wasn't true nobility from the way she stumbled over the words, but that was perfect for his uses. While it would have been nice to have a nobleman owe him the life of his daughter, Karl was still so new to this world that he might accidentally offend someone. He would rather not have that someone own substantial wealth and influence. He nearly laughed at the idea that his quest might fail so soon into it because a petty dispute. His good humor darkened when he remembered just how many good soldiers' careers had been ruined because they had stood up to the wrong person.

Brushing the thought aside, he crouched down beside the girl and motioned her closer reassuring her with, "Don't worry little one, I'm merely going to check you over. I promise on my honor that I won't hurt you." Nodding slightly but still suspicious, she scooted closer until Karl could gently lift her arm and look over the bare skin. He finally noticed that she wore short pants and a shit with no buttons and very short sleeves. It left much to be desired in the way of forest gear. He supposed it was likely that she hadn't left her home for that purpose. She flinched as he tilted her arm this way and that, but little more. He was slightly impressed. While not deep, the marks were many and must certainly hurt all the more with the wind blowing constantly.

"You're doing good child, you must be quite tough," he said while smiling at her. She perked up and seemed to ignore the little pinpricks completely at his words. "Yeah I'm tough. Even tougher than my big sister. She's at the battle academy and she's top of her class, but she doesn't know how to hit em real hard, so I beat her bunches." Karl was genuinely amused by this. "Oh ho, do you now? Well that is a mighty bold claim, isn't it." Being all too familiar with how oft children exaggerated the truth, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the girl's elder sibling let her win. It was a little surprising to hear that a woman was in a battle academy, but with more advanced weaponry perhaps the difference in size and strength wasn't quite the hindrance it was back home. Just another question he tucked in the back of his mind.

A great cry rang out, one that was as familiar as his wife's voice maybe more. War called him from his hearth and home much more in the waning years of his reign. A great smile stretched a slash across his face as a massive eagle winged creature swooped by. To think he would be graced with Deathclaw the mightiest of griffons once again. And to think, he had feared for the success of his mission. Nothing would be impossible now. Flying parallel to the woodline, he sank so low that his mighty claws dragged through the ocean of grass. Banking back out and then coming around, Deathclaw began a graceful descent. When the griffon reached them, a powerful sweep flap of its wings let it hover and then slowly drop down beside them. Karl closed the distance between them and immediately embraced the griffon around the neck, laughing all the while. The girl chose then to cry out, "You know that huge thing!"

Karl turned to address her, "Know him? Girl I practically grew up with him. I knew how to ride him before I learned to ride a horse. He is my best friend and most trusted ally. This is Deathclaw." The girl could only stare in wonder. As he was about to motion for her to stroke his feather a cry rang down the hill.

 _ **A/N**_ **I'm sorry if the ending is a little sudden but I wanted to get something up since it had been so long. Also I'm just curious if any of you would rather me approach adult themes or not. If I do I will have to bump the story up to an M rating. Just let me know in a review or a PM. Thanks for reading.**


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